Ed Warren (1926-2006) and Lorraine Warren (born in 1927) are paranormal investigators who began their work in the 1940s and rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s primarily through their association with high-profile cases of hauntings, poltergeists and paranormal activity such as The Amityville Horror, the Perron family haunting (inspiring the movie The Conjuring), the Enfield Poltergeist story in England (which inspired the horror film The Conjuring 2), the Snedeker case (featured in the book In A Dark Place), the Smurl haunting (featured in the book The Haunted), the Bill Ramsay werewolf case (featured in the book Werewolf) and the Annabelle doll case (inspiring the movies Annabelle and Annabelle 2)
Ed and Lorraine Warren founded the New England Society for Psychic Research and have authored numerous books on their cases.
They got their start in an unusual way, by painting pictures of haunted houses. The people who lived in the houses would tell Ed and Lorraine Warren their stories and in this way, they gradually became more involved in trying to help each family rid themselves of whatever spirit or entity was troubling them.
Over the years, they were involved in many cases but the public’s general interest in Ed and Lorraine Warren was renewed in 2013, when the horror film The Conjuring came out to rave reviews and made over 318 million dollars at the box office. Not to mention the critically-acclaimed performances of Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren and Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren.
Although Ed and Lorraine Warren have written several books, there is one book that some would say is a must-read for anyone curious about these world-renowned paranormal investigators.
The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren, written by Ed and Lorraine Warren and Gerald Brittle, gives a unique insight into their process and indeed, some of their most famous cases.
“There are three distinct stages to demoniacal activity,” Ed reveals. “infestation, oppression, and possession.” – is a quote taken directly from The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
James Wan himself, the acclaimed director of The Conjuring movie, sent out an enthusiastic F-bomb tweet regarding The Demonologist book by Ed and Lorraine Warren in November 2011, before he started shooting The Conjuring!
Lorraine Warren and Conjuring director James Wan
The actress Vera Farmiga, who portrays Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring films, has also talked about The Demonologist book as well. She said,
“Primarily my research relied heavily on the nonfiction book, The Demonologist. It is unlike any book I have ever read…It scared the daylights out of me, profoundly…I felt a sense of terror every time I cracked it open.”
Two specific chapters in The Demonologist deal specifically with the true story of the Enfield Poltergeist (made into The Conjuring 2) and the true story of the Annabelle doll (made into Annabelle and the sequel Annabelle 2).
Although the book The Demonologist remains under-the-radar, it is a true gem for paranormal lovers and Ed and Lorraine Warren fans; a real piece of paranormal and cinematic history.
With the announcement of more sequels to the Conjuring films to come, one can only guess which Ed and Lorraine Warren true case files will be portrayed next on the big screen!
